Author Topic: How to add Win98 as dual boot with XP installed? (Read 910 times)

Animal · « **on:** November 19, 2001, 05:22:00 PM »

I just put my PC togheter again, and forgot to install Windows 98 first, and then XP to set a dual boot.

I have XP installed and working like a charm, but finding it impossible to install Windows 98 on another partition.

Ive been trying by setting the CDROM as the first boot device, in the BIOS. The Win98 setup just wont work.

I dont want to format and reinstall everything again.

thanks.

weazel · « **Reply #1 on:** November 19, 2001, 05:36:00 PM »

With W2K Pro you have to install W98 first, I'm not sure about XP since I've never used it.

-lynx- · « **Reply #2 on:** November 20, 2001, 03:46:00 AM »

It's the same - install Win98, then WinXP.

metronom · « **Reply #3 on:** November 20, 2001, 12:14:00 PM »

Yep, first install the "older" OS and then xp. But the xp install must be on another partition. You can't run both from C:

XP can be installed on any partition of the HD, Win98, ME or 95 no.

Sailor

Animal · « **Reply #4 on:** November 20, 2001, 12:23:00 PM »

Yah I know, but if XP is already installed on the C: partition (NTFS) and I have to free FAT32 partitions, cant I install Win98 in one of these without getting rid of XP first? there should be a way.

vatiAH · « **Reply #5 on:** November 20, 2001, 01:33:00 PM »

No way i can think of. Btw, how are you going to repartion the NTFS drive without loosing all your current data? I don't think partion majic will work with a NTFS drive, I may be wrong since I have not used P-magic in along time.

Vati

metronom · « **Reply #6 on:** November 20, 2001, 02:44:00 PM »

Partition Magic V7.0 will work with NTFS and with XP.
But far as I know, Win98 must be installed first and then XP

sailor

Animal · « **Reply #7 on:** November 20, 2001, 02:50:00 PM »

oh well.

iceydee · « **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2001, 07:30:00 PM »

I can't see why Win98 wouldn't install on a free FAT32 partition... what happens when you try? as for the Win98 cd not booting, have you tried running a Win98 boot-disk instead?

weazel · « **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2001, 09:10:00 PM »

Why the hell are you wasting time on that piece of toejam XP anyway?

DrSoya · « **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2001, 12:17:00 AM »

Weazel, the Win9x family is the real piece of toejam. It doesn't know how to manage memory worth a damn, and in a network (a Banyan Vines network at least) it's buggy as hell. I have to live with that piece of crap every day at work, and I'm quite sure my job (tech support for our home-grown software) would be quite easier if we had some version of NT instead of Win95A/Win98SE.

WinXP is the most stable, most user-friendly, the BEST Windows I've seen to date. It is the Windows I was expecting 6 years ago.

Granted, Win9x is still the most appropriate OS for home users, but not for power users. And 6-12 months from now, when peripherals makers like Saitek will have got their heads out of their arses, it will be the best OS for everyone.

Kudos to Microsoft for that one: let's give to Ceasar what's due to Caesar, this time.

steely07 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2001, 12:02:00 AM »

Agreed Dr Soya,and Microsoft themselves say that you cannot install the os's in the order u want to,u gotta install 98 first

Steely

Starbird · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2001, 12:30:00 AM »

There is a way to have 2k/nt put its own bootloader back on you system after you install 98.

I forget exactly what the program is, but you should also be able to do it if you do a repair after booting the install disks (or cd) for xp/2k.

I tried it on my laptop, but it kept giving me an error.

Lephturn · « **Reply #13 on:** November 26, 2001, 07:02:00 AM »

You should be able to install 98 to one of the other Fat32 partitions... BUT!

If your boot partition is NTFS this will not work. Win 98 setup is going to puke if it can't get at the boot partition because it's NTFS.

Now, you can use Partition Magic to shrink the NTFS one, move it down the drive a bit, and make yourself a FAT32 partition at the start of the drive that is your boot partition. (Mark it active). You could then install Win98 onto this active bootable FAT32 partition and it will work. It's setup will wipe out XP's boot records though. You should be able to run a repair with XP and have it re-install the boot loader and re-write it's boot records and have it include Win98 as an option.

Also, if you buy Partition Magic, it often comes with a Boot Manager that should make this much easier.

It's a lot of work though. It might be easier to just start again and do it in the right order.